Rabbis From Israel Join Rare Visit to Long-Closed Aleppo Synagogues

ALEPPO, Syria — A Jewish delegation that included two rabbis from Israel visited long-shuttered synagogues in Aleppo this week, marking one of the most unusual Jewish communal events in the city in decades, activists said Wednesday.

The gathering was held in the Al-Jemayliyah neighborhood, where a Jewish organization and a northern Syria–based association convened a religious and cultural ceremony inside a long-closed Jewish temple and school. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights released video of the visit, saying the clerics arrived from Israel without prior public notice.

Exclusive video | First Jewish temple and school inaugurated in Al-Jemayliyah neighbourhood in Aleppo#SOHR https://t.co/3ZHFf8027c

— المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان (@syriahr) December 10, 2025

The delegation inspected two historic synagogues — one in Al-Jemayliyah and another in the Bab al-Nasr district — both dormant for many years. SOHR reported that the group’s purpose included reviewing property and communal assets once belonging to Aleppo’s Jewish families.

Security forces sealed surrounding streets and restricted movement around the area during the event, which activists described as the first of its kind in roughly three decades.

According to SOHR, the governor of Aleppo pledged to address longstanding claims over Jewish communal property and to work toward safeguarding those rights after years in which corrupt networks allegedly took control of various assets.

SOHR added that the rabbis’ arrival followed similar unpublicized activities in Damascus several weeks earlier, including quiet meetings with local figures.